On the County Board: Our economic 'team' is not a winning one

I'd like to thank Rep. Brian Stewart for his perspectives on economic development in two recent columns. His support of stronger private funding for economic development was especially welcome.

However, I do need to respectfully disagree with or comment on some of the points he raised. I'll confine myself solely to the relationship between our county government and NIDA and am not commenting on all agencies involved in economic development work. I hope he won't mind if I express each points as a brief summary sentence.

1. Past efforts may have failed, but now we need to put the past behind us.

In our case, as William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." NIDA asked the county for funds to hold task force meetings as recently as last October, and bills for previous failures keep coming every year in the form of bond payments on a corn field.

Moreover, a team needs accountability. If "let's put the past behind us" was the rule on every team every time, Dick Jauron would now be preparing to coach the Bears for his 15th straight year.

There's not just harsh "perform or go elsewhere" accountability on a team; there's also the day-to-day accountability of being responsive to the concerns of those you work for and with. A wide receiver who refused to answer questions from the coaches about why he was missing his routes wouldn't last long in the NFL.

So, when I and my colleagues ask our representatives on the NIDA Board of Directors (one of whom styles himself as "the Taxpayer's Watchdog") about specific issues of NIDA performance, how they themselves voted on the matter of a budget request when the county was dealing with a six-figure deficit or even if there was a vote on the matter at all and they refuse to provide any answers, that's not team work. Or representation, for that matter.

2. Public money should be given to public/private partnerships because it will increase tax revenue.

First, how often do you hear a politician propose doing anything with your money that isn't a sure way to increase tax revenue? Right. Enough said.

Second, how would we ever verify/falsify this premise? To show how spending from specific bodies leads to increases in tax revenues, we'd have to show that the thousands of other factors in an employer selecting a site - location, commodity prices, market conditions, water availability - mattered less in the decision than the source of the funds for the staff of one involved agency. How would that even be possible?

3. Economic development is a team sport.

I'm not objecting so much to that phrase, but to the characterization of our current economic development relationships being team-oriented.

Consider this: An organization is government-funded. It has often been unaccountable to those paying its bills. Past performance is seen as irrelevant and the organization must be preserved and funded despite any previous errors or ineffectiveness. Costs for failure are to be projected onto future generations.

That's not a team. That's not even a business. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a BUREAUCRACY.

If there is a team, there's a specific and important role for the Stephenson County government to play on it. We'll look at that role next time out. Until then, remember:

You're the boss, it's your government. Learn it, live it and vote it!

Christopher Clukey represents District F on the Stephenson County Board. He can be reached at chrisclukey@comcast.net.